Revelations
by SoCalKat
Summary: After a bad injury in a fight, Squirrelflight awakens to find that she has chosen Ashfur as a mate! How will this change the Warriors?
1. Chapter 1

Revelations

Squirrelflight's eyes slid open, and she gazed at the bright light above her. She stayed still for a moment, and then struggled to get to her paws.

A familiar voice from somewhere inside the den exclaimed, "She's awake!" At once, Leafpool was practically holding her down.

"Don't move, you'll reopen one of the wounds." Squirrelflight grunted in protest, but eventually gave up. "What happened?"

"You, along with most of the Clan, were fighting off ShadowClan. Don't you remember?"

Squirrelflight slowly shook her head. "ShadowClan?" she mumbled, but she realized they were always doing something to fight.

"Did we win?" Leafpool sadly shook her head. "No, and we lost many great warriors today."

"Who?!" came the urgent reply.

"We lost Brackenfur, Thornclaw, Dustpelt… and Brambleclaw." The medicine cat stumbled over the deputy's name.

"Ashfur was also wounded badly. He… wants to see you." Leafpool sounded sad, like she'd given up on him.

"Why me?" Squirrelflight asked, still a bit dizzy. "Why does he want to talk to me?"

Leafpool barely stifled a gasp. "He's your mate!" A long silence endured after this, until Squirrelflight spoke up. "I-I don't remember. Anything. I can't…"

Leafpool stood there, with an agonized expression plastered on her face. "You don't remember Ashfur's your mate… Do you remember your kits?"

Squirrelflight nodded. "Jayfeather, Hollyleaf, Lionblaze." She hesitated though, after another glance at her sister, who was shaking her head.

"No. Cedarkit, Frostkit, and Flamekit." Squirrelflight gasped. "N-No prophecy? No kits with the power of the stars in their paws?"

This earned her a strange look from her sister. "Oh, there's a prophecy. But not about stars. _There will be one, more powerful than fire itself, who will terrorize the lake and destroy every Clan in the forest."_

"Who's it about?" Squirrelflight inquired. "Flamekit. As soon as you named her, we knew. Careful guard must be kept over your daughter." Leafpool warned.

_My daughter's evil? Or will be?_

Squirrelflight's thoughts were interrupted by a feeble, decidedly male voice coming from a corner of the den.

That was when Squirrelflight realized that the mound of dark red and gray fur lying limply was… her mate. "Squirrel…flight. I love you." Came another weak mew.

"Be quiet, Ashfur. Save your breath." Leafpool whispered to him urgently, and Squirrelflight suspected she was telling him he didn't remember 'them.'

Ashfur's eyes went wide, but he nodded gravely. "I understand," came with a curious glance at Squirrelflight's torn flank.

Squirrelflight just stared. _If my kits are… kits, why aren't they in here?. "They need to be taken care of."_

"My kits," she meowed once she had time to think again. "Who's taking care of them?"

Damn mothering instinct.


	2. Chapter 2

Revelations

Chapter 2

After nearly a quarter-moon, both Ashfur and Squirrelflight were released from the medicine den. Squirrelflight went back to the nursery, and Ashfur went back to the Warriors' Den.

Cedarkit, Flamekit, and Frostkit really were beautiful kits, tumbling about in the nursery. They were just over three and a half moons, playing with each other, but not too roughly.

Cedarkit, darling Cedarkit, was a perfect copy of Ashfur. Determined, strong, and thoughtful.

Frostkit was pale brown, with eyes that were barely just lightening up to a rich amber. She was shy, even to her mother.

And Flamekit. What scared Squirrelflight was that her daughter was exactly as Squirrelflight had been. She was opinionated, sharp-tongued, and stubborn, but not unfriendly. _But she was doomed to destroy everything._

About once a day, Ashfur visited the little family. He had taken a brutal loss, covered in lacerations and open wounds. But he played willingly with his kits.

Squirrelflight marveled at the tom, and just, merely the fact that he was her mate. She'd thought she'd always preferred Brambleclaw, but something must have changed that.

_And now the strong, gentle tabby warrior was dead. _

Brambleclaw, Brackenfur, Thornclaw, and Dustpelt had long since been buried, and the Clan felt their absence like a thorn. Rainwhisker had been made deputy, and Whitepaw and Spiderpaw were now warriors; Whitewing and Spiderleg.

Squirrelflight spent her days in the nursery, watching her kits, and sometimes Ferncloud's, Sorreltail's, and Daisy's as well.

Ferncloud had taken her mate's death hard, practically neglecting her kits. They suckled from whatever queen was 'available,' or not busy. Sorreltail had lost her mate as well, but she took it a bit easier, accepting it almost.

All the kits in the nursery would group together and imagine their warrior names. Berryfur, Hazelnose, Mousepelt, Cinderpride, Honeywhisker, Poppyheart, Cedarclaw, Flametail, Frostears… The list was endless.

Brambleclaw's kits were too young to be playing with the others. The two, Snowkit and Songkit, had been mothered by a WindClanner, by the name of Innocentmelody, were being raised by Ferncloud.

Squirrelflight didn't care about any of that. She wanted to be back out on border patrols or hunting patrols. She wanted to be fighting. She had, in the ShadowClan fight, but only because she was the last healthy cat in the Clan.

They had had Brambleclaw and Dustpelt guarding camp, Thornclaw and Brackenfur were at the entrances to the nursery and elders' den. Obviously, the camp was invaded and all four were killed.

And one day, Ashfur came into the nursery to play with his kits. They were playfully jumping all over him, when one by one, his wounds re-opened and he collapsed onto the ground.

"LEAFPOOL!"


	3. Chapter 3

Revelations

Chapter 3

Leafpool raced into the nursery, ears pricked and tail waving. "What? What happened?" Her eyes widened as she saw Ashfur, and the medicine cat shooed the kits away, to their mother's side.

"Is he okay?" Squirrelflight asked, but she didn't expect an answer. Instead, she tended to her kits, who were frightened and confused.

Leafpool just shook her head. "Could you get someone to help me bring him to the medicine den?" Squirrelflight nodded numbly and slipped out of the nursery.

Outside, everything was mostly normal. She flagged down the first tom she saw. "Spiderleg! Can you help Leafpool? She needs to get Ashfur to the nursery." Spiderleg hesitated before nodding.

"Sure," he grunted, and padded into the nursery. Moments later, he and Leafpool reappeared, sharing Ashfur's weight between them. He was barely conscious, but still objecting. "Lemme down… I can walk on my own…" Leafpool just sighed and waved her tail.

The three cats retreated down entrance to the medicine den, and Squirrelflight followed nervously behind. While she might not love him the way he wanted her to, she was still fond of the tom. She found Leafpool desperately trying to stop the bleeding from countless wounds.

Ashfur was unconscious, and Squirrelflight felt helpless. After a moment, she heard her sister mumble something about Brightheart. Instantly, Squirrelflight was out the door, tracking down the she-cat. "Brightheart!" she yowled and the warrior stepped out of the den.

"Yes?" She asked, flicking her tail. Squirrelflight quickly explained the situation to her, and her eye widened. The two cats turned and trotted quickly back to the medicine den, where Leafpool was still struggling to keep Ashfur's bleeding under control. Brightheart sprung to action immediately, grabbing some cobwebs and dock leaves.

Two sunrises later, Squirrelflight brought her kits to the medicine den to visit their father. Ashfur raised his head, smiling widely when he saw his mate and kits. Cedarkit bounced toward his father, but stopped short when he saw Squirrelflight striding purposefully forward. She stopped by his side, and nuzzled his flank, purring. The look on Ashfur's face was priceless, ecstatic but loving.

She realized she had been neglecting him, but only because she wasn't sure how she felt about this whole mess. He twisted to touch his nose to hers, and they both smiled. Squirrelflight looked up to find her kits giggling and whispering excitedly to each other.

"Hey," she meowed. "Get over here." The three bounced toward them and tackled their mother, careful not to disturb Ashfur. When Leafpool entered the den and found all five of them laughing and the kits pouncing on each other, she sighed for a moment, before snapping back to reality.

"What exactly is going on here?" she yowled in mock rage. This just made the kits laugh harder, and collapse into little rolling balls of fluff. Squirrelflight laughed for a moment before looking meaningfully at Leafpool, then Ashfur. Leafpool understood immediately, and squealed happily.

"But that still doesn't change anything," she said. "You still need to get out of here before Ashfur explodes again." The kits giggled and Squirrelflight pushed them toward the exit. "C'mon," she mewed. "Let's get outta here." She looked back at Ashfur once more before following her kits out of the nursery.

Leafpool watched her, looked back at Ashfur, and dashed after her sister, stopping her. "Squirrelflight! You and Ashfur are okay again? Do you remember now?" Squirrelflight laughed. "Yes, I've decided I am in fact in love with Ashfur, But no… I still don't remember anything."

Leafpool blinked, giddiness for her sister warring with sadness that she still couldn't remember. "Well… That's better than nothing…"


End file.
